Glenn Beck to 'transition off' his daily Fox News Channel show this year

The top-rated cable news channel announced it has a deal with Beck's production company, Mercury Radio Arts, to develop and produce various TV projects for FNC as well as other platforms, including Fox News' digital properties.

Chalk it up to the fact that Beck, whose syndicated radio program airs on Chicago's WIND-AM 560, has been better positioned than Fox News to profit from his popularity.

Increasingly, Beck has parlayed the devotion of his fans into business windfalls independent of advertising-supported media through book sales, a subscription Web site and personal appearances, including a Chicago Theatre tour stop next week.

“Glenn Beck is a powerful communicator, a creative entrepreneur and a true success by anybody’s standards," Roger Ailes, Fox News' chairman and chief executive, said in the announcement. "I look forward to continuing to work with him."

Beck, in a statement, said that "America owes a lot" to Ailes and Fox News and that he "cannot repay Roger for the lessons I’ve learned and will continue to learn from him and I look forward to starting this new phase of our partnership."

“Joel is a good friend and one of the most talented and creative executives in the business," Ailes said in the anouncement. "Over the past four years I have consistently valued his input and advice and that will not stop as we work with him in his new role."

Cheatwood is remembered in Chicago as the Channel 5 news director on whose watch in the 1990s a series of affronts occured -- including the brief installation of trash TV host Jerry Springer as a news commentator -- that precipitated the loss of both the station's lead anchors, many viewers and a good deal of revenue.

First-quarter ratings showed Beck's Fox News Channel show, the third-highest rated in cable news, lost close to a third of its audience compared with the same stretch a year ago. Among advertiser-prized viewers ages 25 to 54, he was down almost 40 percent.

More critical, from FNC's standpoint, few blue-chip advertisers wanted to sponsor the program because of its sometimes controversial content. Even second-tier marketers were hesitant to attach themselves.

This was despite the fact that, even after shedding more than 800,000 viewers in the space of a year, Beck's average TV audience of 1.9 million is larger than the combined total of his cable news rivals in the time slot: CNN's "The Situation Room" (718,000 viewers), MSNBC's "Hardball" (684,000), CNBC's "Fast Money" (219,000) and HLN's "Showbiz Tonight" (179,000).

Although Beck was pulling prime-time-sized numbers on a show that ran in late afternoon, FNC management had to notice when ratings were largely unaffected when former Judge Andrew Napolitano filled in for Beck earlier last month. He presumably would be among those considered for Beck's slot, as would Megyn Kelly and Laura Ingraham.

Beck's fans are devoted, however, and have put their money where their hearts are.

Back in December, Beck promoted book "Broke" with a $90.50-a-ticket appearance in Pittsburgh that was beamed to more than 500 theaters nationwide, where tickets cost $20. Tickets for his April 14 appearance at the Chicago Theatre are priced from $95 to $35. And his glennbeck.com website offers special "Insider Extreme" content and programming for $9.95 a month, $44.95 for six months or $74.95 a year.

Too bad, I wish he was transitioning off from all media. All he does is instill fear, anger and paranoia in people that can't think for themselves. So we can never work together for a solution, just hate the other person more who doesn't agree with my(beck's) opinions.

Let’s hope this “transition” is of the smooth, “wean me off the narcotics with daily methadone” variety. After 27 months of blind devotion to our forward-thinking, conspiracy unearthing Pied Piper, what are we rats to do once the rug is abruptly yanked from below?

Glenn Beck is gone - History - Did Keith have something do with Beck's departure? Will Beck go rouge like Sarah Palin? Should Fox have their lawyers ready (and waiting)? Surprised, should we be surprised? As far as media stories, there was a lot going on that was confusing between Beck, Fox, Ailes, and Murdock? It was confusing, will Glenn Beck run for President of the United States now

I love the b.s spin they put on it (transition off) what that really means is that Beck's falling ratings on Fox and his rantings = we don't renew your contract (which is up in December). Now Beck will be free to do what he wants and do an occasional Geraldoesqe fearbased special for the holidays, things like that. I think the true story is that Beck got to out in the ozone even for the top brass at Fox, so they came up with this little deal to get him off their network and put him more behind the scenes. Mark my words, one day the stuff is going to hit the fan on Beck. then perhaps the idiots who listen to him will realize what a Billy Flynn this joker is.

Never watched that yahoo. Never intend to. Glenn Beck lines his pockets with cash by scaring old people and weak minded people. Now that he is leaving - try listening to another point of view - maybe you'll realize the sky isn't falling afterall.

Translation: "Beck's ratings are starting to slump, and sponsors are pulling the plug as they discover that running ads on the Beck show causes them to lose sales. We're going to find someplace to put him where he can carry out his primary function as propagandist without hurting our bottom line."

BTW, fun fact: Sarah Palin's non-political show about Alaska drew more viewers than Glenn Beck at his peak. Apparently the American viewer would rather watch Sarah gut a moose than watch Glenn cry. Next logical step, therefore: a show in which Sarah Palin guts Glenn Beck. It would probably give a big boost to both their careers...

Cheatwood's previous maneuvers concerning his version of "news" and his reputation speak volumes. Beck reminds me of "Elmer Gantry" personified on film by the great actor Burt Lancaster. Sounds to me like Cheatwood and Beck were made for each other - both news dumpster divers.

Except for O'Reily and Hannity, Fox news is so far ahead of MSNBC in being balanced it's laughable. Is CNN still around? Hopefully, Fox will fill the slot with another journalist from likes Chris Wallace, Brit Hume, Bernie Goldberg, John Stossel and the others they've lured from the (formerly) Big 3 of ABC, CBS and NBC.

Beck never believed a word he said, he only knew that it was making gold. Instill fear and bring speculation is all he knew how to do. Like the time he talked about the website the governement set up during the cash for clunkers deal. Beck said don't go to this website because they will access your computer and get every bit of information you have. "Don't go there, I am telling you, DON'T GO THERE, they will steal your identity." He didn't want you to go there because you would find out that he was lying about what info was on the website in the first place. If you like Beck and think he is real and not about his own bottom line, then I have a beach house in Japan that I would like to sell you.

Try as I might I could never digest his nonsensical rants for more than 10 minutes.

His "success" speaks volumes about the decadent condition of America; morons like him, Hannity, and O"Reilly could only cater to a fringe audience of ignorants and fearmongers. That such "audience" is getting bigger may be used as a measure of our decline.

As Glenn has said over and over, check out his points and verify for factual content. (I do) Meanwhile, I read through the comment section and see way too many pathetic, thoughtless (dare we say insipid?) things being said that have at least one huge thing missing...facts. I understand why some might not like Glenn, hearing the truth sometimes hurts. It's ok though, he and other Patriots like him, will continue to try and keep this great country out of the hands of buffoons like you.

About this blog

This is an expansion of the Chicago Tribune column I have written since April 2005, and the columns I wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times and Los Angeles’ Daily News for two decades before that. It’s TV, radio, newspapers and whatever, both locally and nationally. Beyond sharing what crosses my desk—and my mind—this will be a venue for you to share your takes with me as well as with each other. About Phil Rosenthal